With the arrival of my highly anticipated, week-long vacation from FedEx, I find that my head is filled with thoughts about the work I will be missing this week. Though I am supposed to be going to bed, I feel the need to share with you the secrets of the FedEx Ground Mezzanine.
I've written about loading and unloading and work conditions at FedEx, but until this last week the Mezzanine was a complete mystery to me. I knew that the privileged few who worked up there were given a radio each, with which to communicate with the control room and with maintenance. But I knew nothing of what the job itself entailed, other than that, on rare occasions, someone might be sent up there as a respite for loading downstairs. Because of that, surely it had to be an easy job, I thought.
The Mezzanine is not easy. Perhaps, physically, it is less demanding and doesn't damage the muscles in your lower back in the way that loading and unloading can. In that sense, yes, it is easier. When it comes to being able to move and make judgments quickly, it is significantly harder than any other job that a package handler might be given. The Mezzanine is a job that completely overwhelms and terrifies me, to the point where I can't even make sense of how I actually feel about it.
Boxes fly at you far fast than they do when they slide down the chute in the load ends. You have to be quick to pull trash off the rollers, identify problem boxes, and pull off boxes that need to be sent to QA. At any moment you may be called away from your post to fix a chute jam on your load end, or to check the end of sorter photo eye, where trash can make the system think there is a jam. It is on your shoulders to keep the machine that is the hub running smoothly and efficiently. You, and a few other select package handlers, are responsible.
In light of the stress that working in the Mezzanine can cause, I also have to say that it is exhilarating. I enjoy the work. Using my mind at FedEx was something I never thought I would be doing, but now I have the chance to exercise both my brain and my body. It may seem boring at times, but at any moment I may have to make a split-second decision or rush away to fix a problem that could shut down part of the system.
There are three unload wings in the hub. Therefore, there are three primary singulators where packages are separated into a single-file line. From those primary singulators, packages are sorted into four other areas; A1, A2, B1, or B2. Each side has a secondary singulator. At each primary and secondary singulator there is a Mezzanine worker posted to help separate the packages into a single-file line. Singulators received their name because of their job of separating the packages. From the secondary singulators, the packages are sent along a belt where they are scanned, their measurements are taken, and they are then whisked off to the proper chute to be loaded into a trailer. Occasionally those chutes jam near the top, if a package sticks to the metal or doesn't have enough momentum to make it past the entrance to the chute. If this happens and the photo eyes that report jams are blocked, a Mezzanine worker posted on a secondary singulator will be sent in to clear that jam with a large metal pole. Occasionally there are jams in other areas as well.
It sounds easy. But jams can happen anywhere. Just on Friday I had a box on my transporter (the belt that leads up to my singulator) flip up and get caught between the belt and the ceiling. Boxes piled up behind it, and before we could break the jam it broke free, breaking the box that had caused it and nearly taking part of the ceiling with it. I had to rush back to the singulator to meet the massive river of boxes that threatened to spill over the edge of the rail guards on the belt and slam right into me. At any other time, some other section of belt or rollers may jam, shutting the entire system down. It is our job to keep that from happening to the best of our ability.
I never would have thought that I would be offered the chance to work in the Mezzanine. I don't regret my decision to take the position, for all that the work scares me at times and I sometimes wonder if I will be able to meet my manager's expectations. I didn't think a job at FedEx could be fun.
